FROZEN TIESIt had been two weeks since the scenario occurred which makes it exactly the same weeks since Maria saw Reid. He was either avoiding her or coincidence hasn't played its part to make them cross paths. During those weeks, Maria had time to belligerently adhere to her rules and to ameliorate on herself. She has made it her habitual way to always put her family first as usual and the set of her priorities never neglected her friends. This morning was one of the usual for her. After she had made the necessary calls and she had heard the delight in her mother's voice, it was enough reason for her to conspicuously rejoice. She heaved a sigh of relief as she dropped her phone with a slight smile on her lips. She pulled the duvet well up to her chest as she shut her eyes and a flick of her life with Kyros gleamed through her mind. She hates not just the sight of him now, but also the thought of him. He had never since the day he walked out, after the suspicious smirk he gave

A SECOND SHOTMaria doesn't look like she had anything in mind against Reid. In fact, she seems to be having fun with the guys. He had never seen this side of her, where she's laughing hysterically with the controller in her hand, playing the Play station like a pro. Reid sat separately from them, staring consciously at Maria who was oblivious of his gaze. He analysed her whole, the way her breast looked firm and round in what she was wearing. The way her smile revealed her teeth, giving her face a beautiful definition as it brightened it up. He analysed her like he was in an anatomy class. He strolled his eyes all over her like a pervert and the way her waist accentuates more on her hips as she's sitting. The way she slowly munch on the pie, holding the controller with one hand. The way she laughed at Tristan jokes, throwing her head backward in the process. Typically, he stared at the way she was having a good time and now was regretting that he ever thought of doing her bad. He

THE BET IS ONHe was slipping away from his original self. He was drawing nearer to a different world that he wasn't used to. He was the down-to-earth type. Even his stance commands respect in his solely arrogant ambience. He got rejected twice by Maria, a thing that had never been since he was of age. He felt ashamed and humiliated, not even his friends must know how shitty things had gone between them. He wasn't certain of what to do at the moment but he was certain that he wasn't going to relay his rejection to his friends. He was determined, that if Maria wasn't going to be his, he was going to get down with her regardless. Just like the bet connotes. He wasn't just going to settle for the wrath of rejection and humiliation, he was going to get down with her. The bet is on.Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into a month. A month of meticulous observation and tedious reliance on what is to come, on how he was going to commence his plan. Reid needed all he could to fulfil

RECONCILIATION Maria was back to her habitual little prayer, eliciting from the event that had occurred between them three days ago. She was beyond humiliated and for some reason, she hated that she was a virgin. She would rather take the stairs than use the elevator. “It was a form of exercise, anyway” She would say in denial. She needed to be at work for a quite urgent issue and thankfully, Reid had not been to work which made her prayers more than willful. “I would be there in the next few minutes,” she said through the phone before downing her juice and hurrying out. She didn't stop by her usual coffee shop which was like a curse that she needed to shift off her head some other time. It was past noon anyway, she prefers her coffee in the morning. She checked her time as she hurried to the restaurant, walking briskly in her two inches heels which accentuate her button-down blue dress. She looked a bit exhausted when she got to work and she got more exhausted when she saw the

I LOVE YOUSome things could not be hindered regardless of several misleading occasions. Despite the strong will to fight what was many to be, it still couldn't be stopped. This was the case with Maria and Reid. Reid wanted to fight the impulse to get Maria to be his by just getting down with her out of no affection at all as it’s stated with the bet but slowly, he could see himself shifting from that notion to wanting her even more despite how hard she proves to be. The drive back home wasn't as quiet as it was when they were driving to the art gallery. He looked over at her severally as though he was just setting his eyes on her beautiful soul. “What colour do you think suits you most? Red? Pink? White?” Reid asked out of nowhere, interrupting her singing session. “What colour do you think suits me more? You’ve seen me more than I have seen myself, don't you think?”His mind went back to the times he had seen her naked and he was contemplating whether she was referring to those